Violence, suicides expected in Goa's mining belt: CM

Panaji, April 2 (IANS) Residents of Goa's mining belt could commit suicide and indulge in severe violence due to the long drawn ban on mining activity, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged Tuesday.

The chief minister also said there was no threat to environmentalists, whose PIL in the Supreme Court resulted in the ban last year.

Parrikar said this in a written reply in the Goa legislative assembly.

Parrikar, who is also the mines minister, responded with a "Yes" to Congress legislator Jennifer Monserrate's question: "Whether it is a fact that the government has received police reports stating that 'things have reached the boiling point' in the mining belt of the state and that violence or suicides are expected".

"The police has been asked to keep strict vigil in the matter. Besides, rehabilitation schemes are being formulated," Parrikar said.

Parrikar also said that environmentalists, affiliated to the Goa Foundation, which along with lawyer Prashant Bhushan filed the public interest litigation, had no reason to fear as "no such safety concern exists".

Last month, the chief minister had said that he was worried about the safety of the green activists because "things are boiling up" in the mining ban due to unemployment in the mining sector.

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